Tip 101: Regular phone calls when abroad

It has been 2.5 weeks since I have been in Hong Kong alone without being with my loving wife and cuddly daughter. Here I am at the airport heading home soon. Oh, how much I miss them. When I took up this new job in Hong Kong, I made a condition with my employer that in any travelling engagement more than 3 weeks, my family would join me. So a new chapter of life would start soon with my family travelling with me. We would be in London for approximately 6 months (or longer) bearing the cold winter, but surely also to appreciate new cultures, make new friends, explore new lands and have a good time. I have been reading other blogs of mummies and daddies travelling abroad more frequently nowadays. Yet, with webcam internet and the phone, the family can still stay connected. Of course, its not the same as being with each other, holding hands, playing together, cuddling one another. The virtual communication through phone and internet could get boring and less engaging after a while, yet for a short period of time, it is a worthwhile communication. A baby more than 6 months old will recognise the voices of daddy and mummy, especially if they take the trouble to sing or make a familiar sounds over the phone.

After mummy spoke to me, she passed the phone to Haruka and said papa. After a while, Haruka would follow after her and said papa as she hear my voice. Then, I make a lion's growl and she gets excited that it was the playful daddy on the phone and she responds with a growl. Its certainly endearing to know that someone loves you and misses you deeply and enjoys spending time with you. The phone or internet can not replace human presence and touch, but it can still fit the missing gaps temporarily. These days, we can use all sorts of facilities to keep us connected, yet when our privacy is at risk of intrusion, there are also tools to ensure higher security and greater vigilance. We have probably gotten over the debate between the benefits and disadvantages of science, of technology. Yes, we would have to incur more cost, time and efforts to prevent spam, avoid prank calls, protect from identity theft and keep our privacy intact, but the benefits far outweigh such cost. And now, the internet is beginning to leverage on the masses to reduce such cost through collaborative efforts. For instance, there are websites that allow phone users to share information about prank calls and what to expect from certain phone numbers. When a user gets an annoying phone call from a telemarketer or someone who disguises their identity, they can report that on this website called Phone Number Reporting. Hopefully, we can continue to enjoy the benefits of technology through more of such collaborative efforts.














(Top 3 photos show snake soup, lor mai fan dinner set HKD55. Bottom shows lor mai kai for breakfast, where in HK, its less brown yet taste as good HKD10.)